1000 Views of Madagascar - 12 days

Head out on a stunning journey to some of Madagascar's finest national parks and beaches. Discover the islands famous macots, the Lemurs, visit colourful tribes and explore Antananarivo.

Highlights

Antananarivo - capital of Madagascar

Andasibe National Park - See the largest lemurs, the Indri Indri

Beautiful Antsirabe

Colourful Ambositra - home of the wood carving industry

Ranomafana National Park - Lemurs, chameleons, birds and reptiles

Wine tasting at Ambalavao

Isalo National Park - the Natural Swimming Pool

Diving, snorkelling, birdwatching or relaxing at Ifaty Beach

Andsibe Village and tribal people

Age Policy

East Africa Child Policy – On lodge safaris in East Africa they will actually accept children aged 8 and above but it’s on a request basis and some lodges have restrictions re children. So if you have a family wanting to book you need to know the child ages before confirming the booking.

Southern Africa Child Policy:

Minimum age for participation on a scheduled tour is 12 years - the exception to this is Wonders of the Garden Route and World in One Country. Ages of children must be advised and confirmed with all other clients on the trip before accepting the booking with children, as some clients object to travelling with children.

Children under 16 years: If they accept children under 16 years of age, some places will not allow them to do certain activities e.g. Mokoro trip and open vehicle game drives. Parents are to be advised of this, and that one parent will be responsible for their child/ children should the other parent want to go on an activity. The parents will also be required to sign indemnity forms for their children.

Parents need to be aware of the long driving days and activities not suitable for children. If you have a family with teenagers, it is important to mention to them that there will be early starts throughout the trip, to minimize travelling in the heat of the day, to arrive at your destination early and to allow for activities en route.

'All parents travelling with children into or out of SA and/or Botswana may be asked to show the child’s unabridged (full) birth certificate, and where only one parent is accompanying, parental or legal consent for the child to travel (eg an affidavit from the other parent, a court order or – if applicable – a death certificate). You should travel with these documents in case you’re asked to provide them. There are other requirements for children travelling unaccompanied or with adults who are not their parents.' Tell pax to contact the South African High Commission, South African Department of Home Affairs and/or the Botswana High Commission for further information.

Destinations visited

Africa

Madagascar

Tags

Small Group

Day 1: Antananarivo

Upon arrival into Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar, you will be met and transferred to your hotel. The remainder of the day is at leisure.

Day 2: Antananarivo

( overnight in Andasibe)Antananarivo – Andasibe. After breakfast we start our journey with a drive to Andasibe through the green and luxuriant vegetation of the east. This first step brings you to the humid part of the country with many primary forests and lakes. Along the way we will see Merina villages in the rocky mountains. Arrive at Andasibe in the afternoon. Check-in to your ensuite bungalows, overlooking the forest. Later this evening enjoy a night walk in the area of Andasibe to observe night active lemurs and other nocturnal animals.

Day 3: Natural Reserve of Andasibe

( overnight in Andasibe)A morning visit to the Special Reserve of Andasibe, to see the Indri Indri, the largest lemurs on the island. This 810 ha reserve is unique with its endemic fauna and flora. It contains a wide variety of orchids, canopy, and endemic animals like chameleons, tenrecs, and many birds. After the visit, walk through the orchid park to admire all the nice flowers. In the afternoon, visit Andasibe village, a typical Betsimisaraka (The-Many-inseparable) village, and the second largest tribe on the island. They cultivate rice and live mainly off the forest.This short visit gives us insight to the local people, to see how they live and what they eat.

Day 4: Antsirabe

( overnight in Antsirabe)Andasibe - Antsirabe. Drive back to Tana, and head south to Antsirabe, across the highland landscape with its beautiful rice fields on stage. The spectacular eroded hills called ‘lavaka’ reminiscent of the Far East with its rice fields and green landscape with vegetables and fruit trees. A stop in Ambatolampy for a short visit of this huge agricultural city, which is also known as a source of aluminium. Arrival in Antsirabe around 17h00, or ‘the place of salt’, an elegant city well known as the centre of the beer industry, you can smell the Star Brewery as we enter the town!

Founded by the Norwegians in 1856, it is the only place which really feels and looks like a European city. It has a temperate climate and all fruits and vegetable, which grow in cooler climates, are found in Antsirabe.

Day 5: Ranomafana National Park

( overnight in Ranomafana National Park)Antsirabe - Ranomafana National Park. After breakfast, we drive to Ambositra, the centre of Madagascar's wood carving industry. We are still in the highland, which is characterized by its architecture: The houses are made with ornately carved wooden balconies and shutters with bright colours. Further on we pass the ‘le col de tapia’, a type of tree resistant to the bush fires of the area. The landscape is still dominated by rice fields, pine and eucalyptus trees and rocky mountains. Onward to stunning Ranomafana National Park.

Day 6: Ranomafana National Park

( overnight in Ranomafana National Park )Parc National de Ranomafana (approximately 40,000ha), with its rain forested hills and abundant wildlife, has long been considered one of Madagascar’s highlights, and is one of the most heavily visited of the country’s national parks. Its entrance lies about 7km from Ranomafana village. Altitudes in the park range from 800m to 1200m. In addition to its densely forested hills, Ranomafana’s terrain is characterised by numerous small streams, which plummet down to the beautiful Namorona River. Although much of the region has been logged, the easternmost part of the park retains relatively large areas of primary forest. We will go for walks in the National Park for several hours spotting some of the lemurs, chameleons and other animals.

Day 7: Wine Tasting

( overnight in Isalo )Ranomafana - Fianarantsoa – Isalo. We leave Ranomafana using the road that you entered on, and pass Fianarantsoa ‘the city where one learns good things’. It is the gate to the South and the capital of the Betsileo tribes. This is the centre of the Catholic religion and most of the best schools are found here. Then we head southwards, your first stop is in Ambalavao to visit a wine industry for wine tasting, as Ambalavao is the centre of wine industry. The climate is said not to be ideal for grape vines, but winemaking is a tradition left by priests and monks, who lived in the area of Fianarantsoa. Still in Ambalavao, visit the ‘Anteimoro Paper Factory’ a vestige of the Arabian civilisation in the island. Continue to Ihosy, the capital of the Bara tribes, who are the shepherds of Zebu, and pass through the mountain chain of Andringitra, which serves as a transition between the dry south and green highlands with its famous ‘3 hillocks’ and its huge ‘archbishop's cape’.

Along the way, we see from afar a spectacular huge granite dome with twin rock towers called: ‘the gate of the south’, which marks the end of the highland and the beginning of the south. The other imposing one is the ‘Bishop's hat’, which is a sacred place for the local people, as it is a place where their ancestors chose a collective suicide rather than to give in to the Merina tribes. We then pass through the huge ‘Plateaux de Horombe’ where with its very deep red soil, reminds us of ‘the no man's land’. Arrive in Isalo.

Day 8: Isalo National Park

( overnight in Isalo)Today, we will visit and hike in Isalo National Park. The park covers an area of 81 540 ha comprising the entire stretch of the Isalo massif. This huge mountain is spectacular with its eroded sandstone mountain. Today walk to the ‘Natural swimming pool’. After a 10-minute drive from Ranohira village you'll walk about 1½ hours to reach the Natural Swimming Pool. Along the way, see vegetation like Uapaca Bojeri, Pachypodium Rosulatum or ‘elephant's foot’, Aloe Isaloensis, a native species of aloe and endemic to Isalo.

Walk through the eroded mountains where the Bara people place their dead before they can be interned into their final resting place. Start the climb and reach the massif, (after a 20 minute walk) where we will have a spectacular view of the huge sandstone mountains with its beautiful colours and its strange and eroded forms creating many different images such as ‘the tortoise’, ‘the masks’ and ‘the crocodiles’. See small streams of water, and rivers which are marked by lines of brilliant green, generally made up of numerous Pandanus Pulcher and the delicate, slim-stemmed, feathery leaved palm Chrysalidocarpus Isaloensis. Along the way, for lemur lovers, there may be sifakas, brown lemurs and ringtailed lemurs, as well as fifty-five species of birds, lizards and snakes. Finally reaching the swimming pool, with its crystal clear water. A great reward after your trek.

Day 9: Ifaty

( overnight in Ifaty )Isalo - Ifaty. After breakfast, continue to Tuléar at the end of National Road N° 7. Admire some different scenery - the dry forests of the west and the spiny desert of the south. En-route see the fascinating ‘Mahafaly Tombs’ and the ‘Antandroy Tombs’. After a short visit of Tuléar we drive to Ifaty, which lies about 27 km from Tuléar. Due to the bad condition of the road it will take about 2½ hours to reach Ifaty which brings we to the driest part of the country. Situated in the deep south, the landscape is dominated by the spiny forest cacti, Baobab trees and thorn-bushes.

Mangrove trees line the coast alternated by Vezo villages, the locals earn their living from fishing and there are many small pirogues (small traditional fishing boats) lining the coast. The men of the vilages typically go fishing twice a day while the women and children await their return to fetch the fish and take them to Tuléar for sale.

Day 10: Free Day to Relax or Explore

( overnight in Ifaty)Day at leisure. Ifaty, being a beachside town is an ideal place for diving, snorkelling and is also a popular destination for birdwatchers. This is a great opportunity to experience the Vezo Fishermen's life. Many excursions are possible. Visit the ‘Reserve Domergue’, a communal reserve where you can see two species of baobabs, spiny bush, reptiles like ‘Boa Madagascariensis, geckos and Parson's Chameleon (Calumma Parsonii). Take a boat trip to see the whales. From July to mid September, whales come to the cool sea off Madagascar to give birth to their young. This is a spectacular experience and it is possible to see the whales up close by taking a boat trip. Situated in the largest lagoon of the country, Ifaty is also protected by a large coral reef, which makes it an ideal for diving and snorkelling. In the afternoon you can walk to the village of Mangily where you can visit a local school.

Day 11: Back to Tana

( overnight in Antananarivo )Ifaty - Tana (Antananarivo). Early in the morning around 6h00, transfer to the airport for your flight back to Tana (Please note the tour price does not include cost of internal flight Tulear - Antananarivo).

Check in at your hotel and enjoy a free afternoon. Tana also called the ‘City of Thousands’ is the capital of Madagascar. It is the city where the first King started to unify the different kingdoms of the island. Built in stages: The high city, the first area occupied during the royal period where the old queen's palace is situated, the mid-city, where all the chic boutiques of the capital are found and then the low city, which is the commercial area of the town. Our walk can start from the high city to see the Rova, the queen's palace, the house of the first minister during these days, which is now a museum; all built by Frenchman Jean Laborde during the royal period. The mid-city, or the administration area ends at the Rainiharo tombs and the lower town is situated in the main avenue called ‘L'avenue de l'independence’ dominated by the railway station.

Day 12: Antananarivo

Today is the end of our tour and you will be transferred to the airport for your onward flight.

11 breakfasts

11 days 2-3 star hotels (option to upgrade to 3-4 star accommodation). Please Note: Accommodation named, may be subject to change but will be of a similar standard

Airport arrival and departure transfer on days 1 and 12

Andasibe night walk

Visit to Natural Reserve of Andasibe

Ranomafana National Park Visit

Wine tasting and visit to paper factory

Hike in Isalo National Park

English speaking driver

Specialist local guides in the National Park

All entrance fees to sites, and excursions mentioned in itinerary

All relevant transfers and transportation (for 3 or less pax we use a Peugeot sedan car and for 4 or more pax we use a Mercedes Sprinter). Please note, a supplement will apply for an air-conditioned vehicle, contact us for details

NB - the following are not included:

-International flights and visas -Internal flight between Tulear to Tana (Antananarivo)-Tipping - an entirely personal gesture-Drinks and items of a personal nature

Linda Hammond 25-Apr-2016

Fantastic! Guide very helpful and knowledgable. Activities full on with down time to rest at the end. A beautiful place and in the short I was there, I managed to see a range of landscapes and participate in a wide range of activities.

Rating: 5/5

Natalie Paulse 25-Apr-2016

The tour was just amazing. It was great to spend these days in Madagascar. I learned a lot about the nature, landscape, culture and the people who live there. Our guide, Armel, has a wide knowledge about Madagascar and all the animals and plants, which he shared with us. It was always very interesting to listen to his words and we were welcome to ask all our questions. Armel leaded the tour just perfectly. He showed us all sites of Madagascar and was very funny all the time. His short briefings every evening were very helpful.
The tour itself was a perfect mixture between activities and freetime. We hiked a lot, climbed on rocks and went to caves and we were able to spent the last two days just at the beach. It was the perfect finish for our tour. Everything was well organised and I would recommend this tour to everybody.

Rating: 5/5

Natascha Blasch 25-Apr-2016

The tour was just amazing. It was great to spend these days in Madagascar. I learned a lot about the nature, landscape, culture and the people who live there. Our guide, Armel, has a wide knowledge about Madagascar and all the animals and plants, which he shared with us. It was always very interesting to listen to his words and we were welcome to ask all our questions. Armel leaded the tour just perfectly. He showed us all sites of Madagascar and was very funny all the time. His short briefings every evening were very helpful.
The tour itself was a perfect mixture between activities and freetime. We hiked a lot, climbed on rocks and went to caves and we were able to spent the last two days just at the beach. It was the perfect finish for our tour. Everything was well organised and I would recommend this tour to everybody.

Rating: 5/5

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You will have the option to book your own flights independently with the operator.

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